The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, which is typified as, for example, a digital camera, and a stored picture image playback method. The present invention has a simple structure, and achieves easy searching for a picture image which a user wishes to play back from among many stored picture images and the picture image playback.
In recent years, as an image inputting apparatus, the use of the digital camera has become widespread. Various types of digital cameras from a single-lens reflex digital camera for professional users to a compact digital camera which takes a snapshot have been commercialized. Furthermore, products incorporating digital camera such as mobile phones, photo booths which photograph the face of a user, and the like have also become widespread.
Most digital cameras are capable of loading external memory cards such as a standardized memory card, a “compact flash” memory card, and the like in their camera bodies, and image files of shot picture images are stored in the external memory cards. After shooting, the images are printable based on image data included in image files stored in the memory cards, or loading the image data into a PC (personal computer) and the image data are usable in various ways. The storage capacity of external memory cards has increased, and the memory cards with several GB (gigabytes) to tens of GB are sold. In addition to the external memory cards, a memory is also provided with many digital cameras in their camera bodies.
The greater the storage capacity of external memory cards, the greater the number of images that can be stored in one memory card. Usually, it is possible to select a size of an image file of a shooting image by a digital camera. If a storage capacity of a memory is 1 GB, approximately 10,000 images of a VGA (video graphics array)-size image file (640×480 resolution), or 1,000 images of a 1 M (megabytes)-size image file (1280×960 resolution), or 500 images of an 8 M-size image file are capable of being stored in the memory.
The digital camera has a liquid crystal display element (hereinafter it is called an “LCD”), and shot picture images are played back by the camera and thereby it is possible to check the images. In a general digital camera, when switching to a playback mode, a latest image file, that is, a last shot picture is displayed on the LCD. Using this playback function, the shot and stored pictures are used not only for viewing, but are also used as useful information taken in the pictures by many users. For example, a timetable for vehicle is shot and stored, and is displayed on the LCD when needed, and thereby it is possible for a user to check the time in the timetable. Or, when a user goes to a specific place, previously stored picture images corresponding to respective marks are displayed on the LCD and are used as a guide. Additionally, a picture of a map, an address book, or the like is displayed on the LCD, and thereby it is possible for a user to check a specific place or address. Digital cameras are used in various ways as described above. Thus, the use of a digital camera as an image inputting apparatus has become widespread.
However, according to a general digital camera, when an operation mode is moved to a playback mode, a latest image file, that is, a last shot picture is displayed on the LCD. Therefore, in a case of playing back pictures, if the digital camera is used in the above ways, it is necessary for a user to search for a picture the user desires by moving forward and backward through the pictures. In other words, there is a possibility of repeats when moving forward and backward through the pictures until reaching the picture the user desires. Particularly, it takes so much time and work for a user who frequently uses a function as described above.
In the mode to playback the stored picture image, if the digital camera is set to firstly display a picture image the user desires, it is possible for the user to use the above function promptly without any complicated operations. In addition to the above display function of the camera, if the camera has another function of enlarging the desired image, for example, a time zone of a timetable which the user often uses, at a desired magnification, and displaying the desired image on the LCD, it is possible for a user to quickly search the desired picture image and display it on the LCD. Furthermore, if there is an image which the user often uses and the user often uses a necessary part of an enlarged image in the image, displaying the enlarged image by a simple operation makes it possible to further enhance convenience of the camera.
On the other hand, for example, pictures of a timetable for a vehicle, a map, an address book and so on are often needed and are frequently checked when a user travels in a specific place; however, these functions are less important when the user leaves the specific place. In this case, if necessary, that is, depending on if the user is in a specific place or not, if a judgment as to whether a picture should be displayed preferentially in the playback mode or not is performed and a picture image is able to be displayed according to this judgment, it is possible to further enhance convenience of the digital camera.
Japanese patent registration number 3489454 discloses a camera which takes out from a memory and plays back a stored picture image selected as a picture image which is displayed under a specific movement condition from among a plurality of stored picture images. The above specific movement condition includes a startup movement of the camera, and a picture image which displays at the startup movement of the camera is a so-called startup screen image. However, in a playback mode, for example, even after switching from a shooting mode to the playback mode, and even when the playback mode is set when the camera starts operating, the above startup screen image is switched to a display of a last shot picture image. Therefore, the above startup screen image is different from a picture image preferentially displayed in the present invention, which is later explained in detail.
Japanese patent registration number 3237900 discloses an image display system which preferentially displays an important image which is necessary for a diagnosis on a medical site from a plurality of image data. Japanese patent registration number 3237900 has a memory for image data which stores image data, but does not have a shooting function; therefore, it is just a display where necessary image data for the diagnosis are displayed only.
Japanese patent publication number 2008-85490 discloses an image display technique for a mobile device with a camera which easily judges shooting areas of each shot picture image in a case where the shot picture images are displayed on a display in turns. More specifically, it has a global positioning system (hereinafter, it is called “GPS”) unit, a memory, a display, and an area judging section which judges whether a shooting location of a shot picture image (a second shot picture image) is in the same area as a shooting location of a shot picture image obtained by a previous shooting (a first shot picture image) or not, and in a case where it is judged to be not in the same area, an area displaying image which expresses area information including the shooting location is inserted into a position before a displaying order of the shot picture image (the second shot picture image) and shot picture images are displayed on the display in turns and the area displaying image is displayed in the position where inserted. In other words, the area information of the shooting location is displayed in the shot picture image.